I Hate Hospitals
by Edmunderson
Summary: Rated T for language. Dave hates hospitals because he's spent most of his life in one. The other patients call him "the weird albino kid in room 574." Dirk hates people and has few friends. His mom has recently tricked him into being a volunteer at a hospital.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck. Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie.

Okay so, I'm trying to write something other than Davekat (despite how much I love that ship). Hopefully you guys like this, if not, then oh well. Just a small note, Dave and Dirk/Bro are not related in this one, although it still falls under stridercest. Basically Dave is an only child whereas Dirk has two sisters (Roxy and Rose).

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He's always hated hospitals, probably because he's spent most of his life in one. He's not terminally ill, his disease isn't contagious, and he's not a bubble boy (although he does have a weak immune system). He's known as the "weird albino kid in room 574" but he has a proper name. His name is Dave Strider and today he turns 15. He spends most of his days either sitting in his bed on the computer or wandering the halls. He wears aviators that his best friend gave to him two years ago, a white shirt with red sleeves that has a broken record on the front, and red gym shorts. He refuses to wear hospital gowns and shoes, so he goes barefoot most of the time. Today is his 15th birthday and he's finally gotten permission to go outside. He's excited, despite his constant poker face. But there's a small downside to this though; a hospital volunteer must go with him, since the nurses are busy today. Apparently the volunteer is some guy named Dirk Lalonde and he's about 16. Dave looks out the window, feeling extremely irritated because he has to wait for him to show up.

He never really wanted to be a hospital volunteer, but his mom had tricked him into it, saying, "It will be good for you. You need some sort of human interaction that isn't just with your family. No, robots don't count as human interaction, Dirk." It's not so much that people didn't like him, he had a few friends, but he just didn't like having to deal with people. He felt a little envious of his sisters, they didn't have to do this because they enjoyed talking with people, for different reasons of course. His name is Dirk Lalonde, and he figures that he'll be dealing with a toddler today or something, since he was told that this kid has never really been outside before. He goes up to the front desk and asks for the room number. "Dave Strider… He's in room 574, top floor, honey," the nurse tells him. "If you get lost just ask the patients or nurse where his room is." Dirk quietly says thank you and heads to the elevator. Normally he'd take the stairs, but this hospital has something like 32 floors.

Once he reaches the top floor he looks for the room, but does in fact get lost. The rooms up here are placed in weird places, so Dirk has to ask for help, which he hates to do. There aren't any nurses in sight, so he asks one of the patients who happens to be walking around. The girl is tall and lanky, and when asked about Dave she asks, "The weird albino kid?" Dirk shrugs and the girl continues, "His room is just down the hall. The door is in the corner there, but it's easy to miss." He says "Thanks" and goes down the hall and sees the door. "This floor is so weird," he thinks to himself as he opens the door. Dirk stops dead in his tracks as he sees that he's not going to be dealing with a kid, he'll be dealing with someone his own age. He can't help but stare at the albino, and he can't help but think "Beautiful" which is something he normally never thinks about a person. Mainly because he doesn't like people and thinks they're really quite disgusting, but this person sitting at the window, this person with pale skin, snow white hair and blood red eyes, is absolutely beautiful. The albino notices Dirk just standing there, staring, and stares back at him. Their eyes lock, orange clashing against red, and they just stay like that for about 5 minutes before the albino puts some shades on and hops to his feet and walks out the door saying, "You're late." Dirk snaps out of the trance and follows. "Are you Dave Strider?" Dave turns to look at him and says, "No, I'm Lucy Liu. Of course I'm Dave Strider."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck. Andrew Hussie owns Homestuck.

Guys, it's hard not writing in the whole "you" style. It's hard and no one understands… Okay so people understand. It's a habit that's hard to break. Anyways, here's the next chapter, I know you all only read the chapter instead of my ramblings so I'll just shut up now.

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Dave and Dirk were now standing in the elevator, an awkward silence had fallen upon them, but Dirk was the only one who seems to notice it. Dave was too busy suppressing the urge to bounce up and down like an idiot, because really, who gets excited about going outside? Dave mother fucking Strider, that's who. While Dave was inwardly bouncing with excitement, Dirk, being the kind of person that he is, was wondering why this guy would need someone to go outside with him. So he decides to ask. It takes Dave to realize that the older boy asked him a question. "What?" Dirk sighs and repeats his question, "Why do you need someone to go outside with you? You seem perfectly capable of going out by yourself." Dave was quiet for a few moments, but his head was turned towards Dirk, so Dirk began to fidget a bit because he was unsure if Dave was staring at him or not. "I can't go outside by myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of being babysat, but I can't go out because of my illness." The uncomfortable silence came back again in full force, except Dave was no longer internally bouncing with excitement. He was now filled with dread and a bit of panic because he knew what the next question would be. He hated answering it, not like he'd give away details about his illness so easily to someone he didn't even know, but it still freaked him out. The question never came. Dirk merely gave a shrug, and stepped out of the elevator when it reached the bottom floor. The two of them walked towards the back exit that led to the 100 acres of land that the hospital had that had hill terrain with small spots of dense groups of trees. The automatic doors slid open and a slight breeze made its way quickly into the hospital.

Dave grinned and took off running, enjoying the feeling of the grass beneath his feet and breathing in fresh air. Dirk was a bit shocked and stood there blinking for a few moments before remembering that he's supposed to be keeping an eye on Dave, so runs after him. Dave makes it to the largest tree on top of hill when he gets winded because having been indoors almost all his life, he never really got the chance to build up stamina for running. He fell onto his back, panting and laughing. He couldn't believe this was really happening, that he was finally free from his cage. Dirk finally caught up with him, looking at Dave as if he was crazy. Before Dirk could say anything, Dave said, "Today's my birthday, and my parents didn't even show up. Hell, even my best friend didn't show up, but that's because he lives pretty far away, and his dad wasn't up for driving all the way here." Dave laughs a bit more before calming down and continuing. "I really hate it here. Always kept locked away, as if I was some sort of princess, being taunted with the thought of being out here. I don't want to be here, I want to be normal and to not be sick," Dave's voice has gotten very quiet, and Dirk has sat down next to Dave. It's silent between the two of them, only the sound of birds singing is what keeps it from being unbearably quiet. Dirk quietly says, "Happy birthday, Dave." Dave is really glad he put his shades on because he's tearing up a bit. This complete stranger named Dirk has sat here patiently, listening to Dave rant a bit, and wished him a happy birthday. For a long time it's quiet again, but then a conversation starts up somehow. Dave learns that Dirk likes puppets and strifing, but can't do it often because his sisters don't really like to. Dirk learns that Dave makes a webcomic called Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff and that he likes to make music. This goes on for a quite a few hours before Dirk gets a call from his mom that she's there to pick him up.

The two of them head back to the hospital, and as Dave turns to go to the elevator Dirk says, "I'll see you tomorrow." Dave stops dead in his tracks and turns his head and replies with "Okay." and disappears into the elevator. Dirk heads out the front doors and sees his mom's car, and gets into the passenger seat. "So how was it?" his mom asks in a cheery voice as they drive away. Dirk was silent before saying, "It was pretty good." His mom then proceeded to start rambling about how she was right about all of this. He paid no attention to her as he looked out the window and thought about the terribly lonely Dave in the hospital.

Dave made it back to his room, and got on the computer to chat with John or Jade, but they weren't on. He frowned to himself because normally they were on at this time. He exited out of the chat client and goofed off on the internet for a while before it was time. Nurse Glenda (who was his favorite because she the grandmotherly type nurse) came into the room with the pills and the shot. She smiled warmly at Dave and said, "Hello deary. I hate to say it but it's time." Dave smiled back at her and replied, "Hey Glenda. It's okay; you're just doing your job." Dave took the pills easily, and laid back on the bed so he could be strapped in for the shot. Glenda strapped him in, but with a sad look on her face. She hated this, probably even more than Dave did. Once he was in securely she began to inject the shot. Dave's teeth clenched, trying to keep in the loud screams that wanted to rip their way out form his throat. Getting poked with a needle didn't hurt; it was what he was being injected with that hurt. Eventually the screams had their way and his voice could be heard all the way down on the 23rd floor. When it was over Glenda unstrapped him, and sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed his bangs off his face. She hummed a song, and within minutes Dave was out like a light. The shots always made him exhausted from the pain, and Glenda wished these treatments would stop, but she knew how bad things would get if they stopped. She picked up the empty needle and turned off the lights as she left Dave's room, her heart heavy with sadness.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck. Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie.

Here you go guys. I should be doing my homework and waiting until fall break to be updating this story like crazy, but meh. Oh yeah, another quick note, it's currently summer vacation in the story. I know Dave's birthday is in December, but I like to think that it's actually in summer.

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It's early morning and the bright summer sun is lazily shining in through the window in Dirk's room. He's sleeping soundly, tangled up in the bed sheets when Jaspers, Rose's cat, decides it'd be a good idea to wake him up. Jaspers quietly sneaks into the room, carefully finds his way across the messy room, and pounces on him. As soon as the cat lands on him, Dirk jolts awake. He quietly curses under his breath and rubs his eyes with the palm of his hand. Dirk got up from bed and went to go get ready for the day, with Jaspers trailing behind him.

Dave has been up longer than the sun has. It's a side-effect of the shots; get exhausted easily, but never get enough sleep. He had been woken up by the sudden need to vomit (another side-effect) and desperately wishes he could go back to sleep but knows that won't be possible until the next dose of shots. So while he waits for time to tick slowly by, he watches the sunrise. It's a brilliant mix of periwinkle and a soft pink. He's so dazed from lack of sleep that he almost doesn't register the knock on the door. The door opens and it's one of the nurses who he never bothered to learn their name because they're the mean and nasty ones (not just to him, but to a lot of other patients in this ward). This is Nurse God-complex, and she the meanest of the mean. She sneers at him, makes a rude comment, sets down your morning medicine (which was just the pills), then leaves. With shaky hands he takes the pills dry, and then heads down to the cafeteria hall to have breakfast with the other patients.

Dave returns to his room, feeling like utter shit. He had forgotten to wear his aviators so he was made fun of for being albino. He crawled into bed and hid in the sheets as if it were a cocoon. Dave only had to wait 20 minutes before Dirk arrived. Only 20 minutes before he could escape to the outside, even if it was only for a little while. The time passed by in a flash and Dirk swung the door open to see Dave curled up into a ball on the bed. Dirk carefully went over to Dave's bed and lightly shook his shoulder. He heard a small sniffle come from the albino before Dave sat up, facing away from Dirk. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "You okay?" Dave gave a snort and muttered something under his breath before slipping on his aviators.

They talked all the way from the elevators to the back door, and then Dave took off running like he had the day before. Except this time, instead of heading for the tallest hill, Dave went for the densest cluster of trees. Surprisingly, Dave climbed up one of the trees as if he had been doing this his entire life. He went as high as he was able before perching himself comfortably on one of the branches. Dirk eventually climbed the tree as well, and sat on the branch next to Dave's. "So what has you so upset?" Dave was so surprised by the question that he almost fell off the branch backwards. He tried to pass it off as nothing, but the way Dirk was looking at him with his orange eyes told him that he wasn't going to get out of telling this guy he barely even knew, what was wrong. Dave sighed heavily and roughly ran a hand through his white hair and proceeded to explain what happened. Dirk continues to ask questions about the situation, and it makes Dave feel awkward, but he also feels better being able to talk to someone about it. Hours pass by before Dirk's mom calls him. Dirk gets down from the tree first, patiently waiting for Dave to come down. Dave is about halfway down when he slips and falls. A string of curses leave his mouth and expecting a painful landing. The pain never comes. Instead of landing on the ground, Dirk catches him easily. The older boy is a little shocked at how light the younger is, but says nothing. They stay like that for a while before Dirk clears his throat and sets Dave down. When they're back in the hospital Dirk asks if Dave has a Pesterchum. His stomach is doing weird flip flops, but he manages to answer him, then they go their separate ways.

Dave gets onto Pesterchum once he's back in his room. Jade is on, but John isn't. So he chats with Jade for a while, before she has to go tend to her pumpkins again. He's about to log out when someone with the handle "timaeusTestified" opens a chat with him. It turns out to be Dirk, and Dave's stomach is doing the weird flip flops again.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or its characters.

I would've written and posted this chapter sooner, but my best friend was staying over for a few days. Also, this chapter is really short, so don't kill me you guys.

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Dave had been informed by Nurse Glenda that he was going to be on bed rest for a while, since the side effects were getting worse. It was true; Dave barely slept anymore and almost always threw up whatever he ate, but he hated being on bed rest. It meant no going outside and he couldn't bear the thought of finally having freedom and then being caged again. When he was first told he just lost it. He began to throw things at the walls and shouting. Dave would normally never get like this, but he absolutely hated this place, but he finished his tantrum quickly because he hated seeing Glenda feeling like she was the worst person in the world. He knew it wasn't her fault, but she still felt guilty. She knew how much he loved going outside, it made him happy whereas being inside made him feel angry and irritable. Before Dave could make it back to his bed (after throwing his tantrum) his hands began to shake and he collapsed. It was obviously from lack of energy and food, but he had become so pale and sickly in only a few hours that he couldn't even stand by himself. The injections kept his illness at bay, but at a heavy cost to his already terrible physical health. To add to the shit-tastic cake that was Dave Strider's situation the doctor ordered for more than one injection per day.

Dirk was not expecting this. This was not what he was expecting at all. In fact, seeing Dave look as pale as a ghost (well, he normally was pale, but this was even paler if that was possible) and shaking like a leaf was so far at the bottom of his list of things to expect that it wasn't even on it. Dirk cautiously made his way over to Dave. He didn't know what to do or say, so he just sat in the chair next to the bed. He found one of Dave's shaky hands and held it lightly and they stayed like that, not even talking because there was nothing that needed to be said. About an hour passed before a grandmotherly nurse came in with a needle. Dave looked at her and smiled slightly while saying, "Another one? That makes it three times today, Glenda." Glenda smiles sadly back at him before saying, "Doctor's orders." She politely asks Dirk to move and begins to strap Dave's arms, and this is really weird and confusing to Dirk. As soon as the she begins the injection Dave looks really pained and tries to keep his screams in, but they break free sooner than they should.

When it's over Dave immediately falls asleep. Dirk quietly asks Glenda, "Does this- Is it…" but he's at a loss for words. Luckily, Glenda already knows what he's trying to ask. She smiles a sweet grandmother smile at him before answering, "Normally he lasts longer before the pain gets to him, but as you can see he isn't strong enough for that anymore." She turns to look at Dirk before continuing. "The medicine at least keeps his illness from progressing too far, but it causes him even more pain than it should." Glenda walks over to the orange-eyes teen and places hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't trust people easily, but I have a good feeling about you. So I ask you, please stay by his side." Dirk nods silently and Glenda smiles, then she leaves the room. Dirk sits back down and holds one of Dave's hands again, then rests in his head in his other hand while muttering, "Good going Dirk. You've barely even known him for a few weeks and you're already head over heels for a guy in the hospital. Fucking perfect."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or its characters.

Really tired right now, gonna go burrow into a nest of blankets and never come out of it ever. Well, I'll go do that soon, I've got some homework and shit to do first, so I have to stop messing around on tumblr and pottermore…

(Pssssst, the italics is Dave's nightmare.)

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Dave was the type of person who normally stays in one position when they're sleeping, even when having a nightmare. His dreams were usually pretty damn sweet, but when he has nightmares they are usually borderline, if not completely, surreal as all hell.

_Everything is dark purple and eerie when the young albino Prince of Derse awakes. His royal chambers are a complete mess like usual, but he pays it no mind. Instead, he opts to look out the window of his room, which is at the very top of an unrealistically tall dark purple tower. All of the Dersites (or is it Dersians? Fuck if he knew) were down in the streets below, going about their own business. The Prince smiled slightly; he disliked most of them (because they were usually insufferable pricks, though some were nice), but he still loved his people. As he was looking out his window, something strange caught it his eye. The young Prince looked out towards the horizon and saw what was so peculiar. He couldn't quite make out what it was, but it looked red. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, then he realized what it was; the Red Miles. The people began to shriek in horror as they realized what it was. Before he could even blink, the Red Miles descended upon Derse and began to destroy everything and everyone. The Prince grabbed his sword and leapt through the window. He knew he couldn't defeat it, but hopefully he could slow it down somehow._

_He landed on the street where it was tightly clustered together the most. He hoped there was at least someone left alive there and there was, but it wasn't who he was expecting. This person had their back to him, but seemed to be wearing the same purple royal garments he was. Blood was everywhere, even on this strange person. The young Prince cleared his throat and called out, "Are you alright? I'm the Prince-" but that was as far as he got before the person turned around suddenly. Pointed shades covered his eyes and he was also carrying a sword; except his was bathed in blood. This strange boy replied in a voice that did not fit him, "You? The Prince? I think not. The only Prince here is me. I am the Prince of Heart." The Prince of Heart removed his pointed shades to reveal bloody eye sockets. He grinned like a mad man and began running towards the albino Prince._

_They fought, metal loudly clashing while the Red Miles destroyed the city even more. The Derse Prince finally landed the finishing move; piercing the Prince of Heart through the stomach, which pinned him to the ground. Then the image of Derse melted away, the Derse Prince no longer what he thought he was. Now he was the Knight of Time, and the Prince of Heart was no longer who he was (although he was still pinned to the ground because of the sword). The Knight's heartbeat sped up and he felt like he was going to be sick. He killed Dirk, and was now covered in Dirk's blood. Oh crap, he was really gonna through up…_

Dirk had been sitting there only 20 minutes (this is a continuation of the last chapter) when Dave's eyes snapped open. Then the albino quickly proceeded to leap from the hospital bed like a freaking gazelle and crash into the bathroom just in time to throw up. Dirk got up and went into the bathroom, his heart fell at the sight; Dave was shaking even worse than he had earlier, his face covered in sweat, and he was clutching the toilet as if his life depended upon it. Dirk went and sat down next to him and began to rub circles in Dave's back. At first Dave tensed up at the touch but eventually relaxed into it. After a while Dave released his death grip on the toilet but decided to lean his back against Dirk's chest. This time it was Dirk's turn to freeze up, but then relaxed and settled for lightly scratching Dave's scalp. It was kind of awkward, but that didn't seem to bother Dave since he fell asleep again. The orange eyed teen sighed, picked up the albino, and put him back in bed and settled in next to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or its characters.

Okay, so I've gotten a few reviews that have been asking what Dave's illness is or what he's being injected with. To be honest, I probably won't say what it is, because 1) pretty sure it's not an illness/disease that exists (except for in this story obviously) and 2) I want to leave it open for speculation and let the audience decide what they want it to be for themselves (if that makes any sense). Actually, I think I'll say what it is this chapter… I don't know.

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Dave seriously has no idea how Glenda was able to convince the doctors to allow him to leave the hospital; especially for an overnight stay at the Lalonde's house. It might be because Dirk is a volunteer at the hospital, or because Mrs. Lalonde is a very generous donator. Point is, Dave doesn't really care how or why, he's just glad that he gets to leave that place far behind, even if it's only for about 48 hours. Dave is sitting in the backseat of Mrs. Lalonde's car, Dirk in the passenger seat, and Mrs. Lalonde in the driver's seat, rambling on and on about random topics. She seems really nice and Dave likes how she can easily embarrass Dirk. Dave looks out the car window and remembers this long stretch of road. He hasn't been down it since his parents left him at the hospital when he was 5-years-old…

_He sits up as straight as he can so he can look out the window and watch the scenery go by. This small boy is humming happily to himself as he holds onto his favorite stuffed animal; it's a lion, his favorite animal. His red eyes are bright with excitement and his white hair a mess from having fallen asleep briefly as he casually swings his short legs to the beat of his humming. His parents are quiet as usual and they don't seem happy, but that's normal. At least for Dave it is, because for as long as he can remember, his parents are always sad._

_He's heard his mom crying at night, always sobbing out, "Will he even live to be an adult?" and his dad comforting her, "It'll be alright, Debra. Dave will live a long and happy life. He'll grow up, get married, and have children. Please don't cry dear." At first he never understood what she meant, but recently he figured it out. It made him sad that his mom cried for him like that, but he made it his duty to make sure she smiled. So every day he gave her a gift of some sort; a drawing, a butterfly, anything. But every time her eyes became sadder and sadder, like she wanted to cry an ocean of tears. Dave's work paid off though! His mom finally smiled at him and told him they were all going somewhere fun! His mom packed his clothes and his dad picked him up and put him in the car. Dave didn't even notice that they weren't packing their own clothing. _

_When they arrive, Dave jumps out of the car and immediately holds his mother's hand. She smiles sweetly at him, and he smiles back. His dad follows behind them with Dave's bag; he's smiling too. They enter the really big building, and go to the front desk. The lady at the desk introduces herself as Glenda and takes the small family up to the 32__nd __floor to room 574. Dave's dad unpacks Dave's clothing into the dresser and his mom has him on her lap, humming a song to him. Then a man in a white coat comes in and whispers something to Glenda. Dave's mom sets him down on the bed, and then both his parents leave the room with the man and Glenda. Dave, being the curious kid he is, opens the door a crack and listens to their conversation._

_Dave's father asks, "So how bad is it doctor?"_

_The doctor replies, "Well, the blood work came back. With the way his condition is now, we're not quite sure how things will turn out for him. It could be a month, a year, before anything happens."_

_Dave's mother looks like she's going to cry._

_The doctor continues talking, "There might be something we can do for him that will prevent it from spreading to the rest of his body, but we must administer it immediately. It isn't the best solution, but it will work until a cure is found."_

_His mother begins to sob, and his father holds her close. Dave is beginning to panic when his parents start to leave. Before he can even think about what he's doing he's already running after them. His parents get inside the elevator and he almost makes it, but trips and falls. He looks up and calls out for them to not leave him, to stay with him. His mother looks away from him as the doors close. Dave begins to wail as his heart breaks and just curls up into a ball on the floor. Glenda gently picks him up, and brings him back to his room and rocks him back and forth, humming a lullaby. They said this would be fun. They lied._

Dave breaks away from his trip down memory lane when they pull up to the Lalonde house. It's kind of deep in the woods, but it looks really nice. They get out of the car and as soon as they enter the house, Dave is immediately tackled by a girl who looks to be about the same age as Dirk, even kind of looks like him, but she has pink eyes instead of orange. "Oh my god, you must Dave! It's so nice to meet you. I'm Roxy, Dirk's twin sister," she says with a heavy New York accent. Another girl with purple eyes, who looks younger than the twins, comes out of nowhere. "Hello, my name is Rose. I see Roxy has already made you acquaintance." After introductions they all move to the kitchen and start to make dinner. Dave has no idea what he's doing so Dirk has to help him, and all the Lalonde ladies smile like they know something the two boys don't. Everything seems to be going great, and Dave is really enjoying helping make dinner, until Roxy is picking up the pot of boiling pasta from the stove to move to the sink to drain it. She accidentally trips over her own feet, and before she can say anything to warn Dave, the boiling water splashes over his torso. It really fucking burns and Dave knows he should be removing his shirt, but he doesn't want them to see. Dirk quickly grabs Dave by the arm and rushes him to the nearest bathroom while Mrs. Lalonde and Rose are cleaning up the mess. Dirk turns on the shower and takes off Dave's shirt, about to put him under the cold water, when he sees it.

"Holy shit," Dirk breathes out. Dave has red marks all over his torso. They're not scratches, but they're definitely not tattoos. They seem to trace his veins, and they kind of protrude a bit, and Dirk is trying to figure out what the hell they are when he notices the look on Dave's face; utter horror. "What is this?" the orange eyed teen asks. The albino looks away, ashamed. He goes and stands under the cold water before he even thinks about answering Dirk. "It's my illness. I don't really remember its technical name, but I've heard the doctors refer to it as 'The Red Miles' before." Dave just stares at his feet as if they're the most interesting thing in the world. He can't explain it, but he feels too ashamed to even look Dirk in the eye. Before Dirk can even speak, Mrs. Lalonde opens the door, holding towels. "Don't mind me boys, I just-" and her eyes go wide, which only increases Dave's shame. He's really glad that he's under running water so no can tell he's starting to cry, because he's Dave Strider, and Striders do not cry. But Mrs. Lalonde knows instantly that Dave Strider, is in fact, crying. She unfolds a towel and wraps it around Dave and brings him into a warm embrace. He's stunned, but returns the hug and cries his eyes out.

The whole bathroom incident is just between the three of them. After Dave puts on a clean shirt they all head back to the kitchen where Rose and Roxy have finished dinner. The rest of the evening goes without a hitch. The four teens end up playing video games until midnight, when the girls returned to their own rooms. This is when Dave finds out he has to share a bed with Dirk. Which normally wouldn't be so awkward for him, but there was that time when he woke up in his hospital bed with Dirk next to him. Let's just say that when Dave feels awkward, he tends to ramble. After about a minute of his rambling, Dirk just climbs into bed, facing the window, and goes to sleep. Dave calms down and lies down next to Dirk and feels like a big idiot. He faces away from Dirk and is about to fall asleep when he feels Dirk shift and holy crap Dirk's arm draped over Dave. The albino is about to start rambling again when the orange eyed teen mutters, "Go to sleep Dave." And he does.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or its characters.

Sorry I haven't updated this story in about a month, I got busy with school work (and distracted by watching the Teen Wolf TV series). So here it is, thank you all for being so patient with this.

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It's in the early hours of the morning, and everyone in the house has finally gone to sleep. Well, everyone except for Mrs. Lalonde. This has probably been one of the most stressful nights she's ever had. She's debating on whether she should make the call or not. She hasn't spoken to them in quite a few years, only receiving the yearly Christmas card from them. She hadn't even known they had a son, especially a son they had practically abandoned at a hospital. Mrs. Lalonde felt incredibly stupid for not having made the connection sooner. Dave _Strider._ Debra and Harold _Strider._ It should have been so obvious, but it had completely gone over her head. She had a nagging suspicion at the back of her mind when she finally saw Dave, but when she had called up the hospital her suspicions had been confirmed. Nurse Glenda had given her the Strider's new phone number (they had to give those sort of updates to the hospital) and now here she sat, at 5 o'clock in the morning, blankly staring at the phone, trying to figure out the best way she could possibly start the conversation that needed to be had. Mrs. Lalonde waited until 6:30 before she dared to attempt calling them. She picked up the phone, carefully typed in the phone number, and held the phone to her ear. It rang twice before she heard Debra mumble out "Hello?" Mrs. Lalonde took a deep breath and said, "Hello Debra. It's me, Roxanne. We need to talk…"

Dave awoke to still having Dirk's arm draped across his waist, and wow, he's still feeling pretty awkward and his heart is picking up its pace at a terrifying rate. He turns his head to see if Dirk is awake. He isn't. However, as soon as Dave looks at his face, he can feel his heartbeat slow down to a reasonable pace, and suddenly he doesn't feel so awkward anymore. He carefully maneuvers himself so that he is facing Dirk, and he just kind of looks at him. Not in a creepy bug-eyed way, but in a weirdly tender way. He starts to feel tired again, so he places his head under Dirk's chin, in the crook of his neck, and falls asleep again.

As soon as Dave's breathing evens out, Dirk opens his eyes. He had been awake much longer than Dave had been. He looks at Dave, and absentmindedly strokes his hair; until he smells bacon. Dirk looks at his alarm clock; it's only 6:45, and his mom is making breakfast. Something must be wrong; she never makes breakfast this early during the summer. Not when he and his siblings usually don't get up until about 9:00. He furrows his brow, and carefully removes himself from the bed and making his way down the stairs, with Jaspers following close behind.

When he enters the kitchen, carrying Jaspers, Dirk is surprised to see his mom scowling while making a much too early breakfast. Dirk scratches behind Jaspers' ear before asking, "Something bugging you? Did dad say he'll be gone longer than September?" His mom jumps slightly at the sound of his voice, but her scowl melts away to a small smile. "No sweetie, your dad will be back the first week of September." Dirk sets Jaspers down and looks at his mom with an ever so serious face before her small warm smile turns into a sad smile. Dirk sits down at the table, waiting for his mom to finish cooking so she can explain what's got her so upset. When she's done, she moves the food to the table, and sits down with her son. She stays quiet, as if contemplating what to say. Dirk waits patiently for her to talk. She finally does. "Dirk, I know you and Dave are great friends, and I know you have feelings for him. And before you even try to deny it, I can tell, I'm your mother after all. Now, what I'm about to tell you is something Dave figured out a long time ago. His parents aren't going to come back for him. They never will. They won't stay with him, because they're too afraid of losing him. What they haven't realized is that they've already lost him. How do I know this? I called them this morning. How do I know them? I was friends with them during college; your father knows them too. I don't know the full details about what exactly happened, or how Dave ended up with his illness. What I do know is this-" She whispers to him, "He has feelings in return for you." His mom looks over towards the doorway where Dave is standing. She stands up, moves over to Dave, and hugs him. She whispers something in his ear; something Dirk can't quite make out. His mom picks up Jaspers and then leaves the room. Dave and Dirk look at and then away from each other awkwardly.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck.

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever, but I needed a new battery for my laptop (which I do my writing on) and the computer I had been using didn't have Microsoft Word on it. To Zexionienzo: I was going to make it cancer at first, but when I started writing the story cancer didn't really work for it, and since this is an AU I decided to make up a disease because why the heck not. To Roman Nightmare: A lot of your questions are going to be answered as the story goes on because I don't want to spoil anything for you and the rest of the readers (but Derse does have something to do with his illness).

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An awkward silence fell over them as they both were trying to calm the chaos in their minds. They had an awkward breakfast, as well as an awkward walk back up to Dirk's work room, where they had been working on one of Dirk's robot projects last night. The robot was short and very boxy. They began to work on Squarewave, and by that I mean Dave handing Dirk the tools he needed, and whenever Dave and Dirk's hands touched momentarily they both froze up a bit. About half an hour later Dave left to go get water and Dirk let out a heavy sigh. "You are such an idiot," he whispered to himself. "Can't even talk to him normally because you're so scared…" The orange-eyed teen looks at the incomplete Squarewave. "Why am I so freaking pathetic?" He sits there for a while, not expecting the robot to reply, but it wouldn't have hurt if it had. Dave came back and Dirk tried to make the awkward tension hanging in the air go away, and he kind of succeeded.

They had some sort of ironic banter going on, playfully shoving at each other, when Dave lost his balance and crash landed on top of Dirk, knocking over quite a few tools on the way down. The awkward tension returned and they were both staring right at each other. Dirk leaned his face towards Dave's and placed his hand on the back of Dave's head. For a few fleeting minutes their lips met and both their bodies felt like fire. This didn't feel awkward at all, it felt completely right. When they pulled away for air, Dirk was about to say something before his mom called out "Time to goooooooo!" They both got up from the floor and headed towards the car.

Roxy gave Dave a bone crushing hug and Rose pretended to be reluctant when giving Dave a fist bump. Dirk hugged him and whispered "See you tomorrow." Dave nodded and got in the car and was whisked away back to his personal hell. The three siblings stood outside until the car disappeared from view. Roxy smiled and lightly punched her twin brother's shoulder.

"You like him."

"Shut up, Roxy."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck.

Okay, so computer issues have been sorted. Turns out it was the charger, not the battery. I'm going to try to update at least once a week, but no promises. I would have updated sooner but I was really sick. Sorry to everyone who likes John, because he's going to be a major butt-face this chapter. (To be honest I don't even like John)

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Dave never realized that he may or may not have developed an anxiety about hospitals until this very moment in Mrs. Lalonde's car. Sure he obviously knew he hated them, but he never imagined hospitals could make him _this_ worried and anxious. What if this was the last time he'd ever see the Lalondes? What if the Lalondes would walk out of his life like his parents had? What if Dirk was disgusted by the Red Miles that covered his body? What if Dirk thought he was a freak? _What if Dirk never showed up tomorrow?_ All these questions shot around the young albino's mind a mile a minute. His grip on his bag intensified as his anxiety grew.

Mrs. Lalonde noticed the death grip Dave was using on his bag out of the corner of her eye. She reached out and gently patted his hand. As if reading his jumbled mind, she said quietly, "It's alright, Dave. You can come back next weekend. In fact, you can come over every weekend if you like." Mrs. Lalonde smiled sweetly at him and he nearly broke down in tears, whispering "Thank you" over and over again.

"We won't ever leave you behind, Dave."

Debra Strider was very distressed. Her old college friend, Roxanne Lalonde, had just called her about Dave. It wasn't a pleasant conversation to say the least, if you could call it a conversation that is. It had started off okay until her son was mentioned. Everything fell into hysterics afterwards. When Debra was unable to explain why she and Harold couldn't, wouldn't, take Dave back she immediately hung up. Debra got up from the kitchen table she had been sitting at and wandered into the bathroom. She lifted up her shirt and looked at her own disfigured torso. Covered in red bumpy lines that spread out, as if to grasp at something. She had the Red Miles as well, though hers were benign, unlike Dave's. "So pathetic… Sending away your only child because you can't bear to watch him die. Such a selfish person, an unworthy mother… Selfish! Selfish!" Debra cried hysterically at her reflection. In a fit of rage her fist connected with the mirror, sending shards all across the room. She was terrible and she knew it.

Dave Strider was not very happy at the moment. When John started dating Vriska, Dave had been okay with barely being able to talk with his best bro, knew that she was John's first girlfriend so he was going to act like an idiot for a while; expected it even. What he was not expecting was for John to flip out about was him hanging out with Dirk over the weekend. John was pretty much acting like he wasn't allowed to have friends other than him and Jade, which is ridiculous. They fall into an argument shortly after. When hurtful insults and truths are said and done Dave immediately messages Jade. She tells him everything will be alright and that she'll talk to John. Dave expresses his thanks through a rap and then turns off his computer for the night. He goes to sleep hoping everything will be okay.

_Everything is not okay. The Prince of Derse realizes this as he wakes. He grabs his sword as he swiftly leaps from the window. "The Red Miles is coming," he thinks to himself. He can see it on the horizon, spreading quickly across the dark inky sky. "I can stop it this time, I have to." He met The Red Miles head on, slashed at it as best he could, but to no avail. In the end The Red Miles bested him by piercing him through his abdomen…_

Everything was far from okay. If Glenda hadn't gone into his room when she did he would've died. The grandmotherly nurse was crying quietly as she held onto his hand. She had become so attached to him, as if he were her own child. She had practically raised the boy from within the unloving hospital walls. Everyone was unsure as to why the disease had spread so quickly. Glenda gently squeezed his hand as tears welled up in her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck.

I'm so sorry that I've been MIA since February. I've just been swamped with projects and trying to finish up cosplays for Phoenix Comicon, so writing hasn't been my top priority, though I feel bad for leaving you guys hanging with a cliff hanger for so long. Since it's currently finals week I won't be updating for a few weeks.

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It was early in the morning when he got the call from the hospital. Dread filled his entire being when he recognized the number, but he picked up anyway. When the voice on the other end informed him that Dave was in the ICU, Dirk was sure his heart actually stopped for a minute. His sisters noticed how tense he'd become so Rose ran for their mom while Roxy tried to get Dirk to put the phone down. Mrs. Lalonde entered the room just as Dirk ran out the door and down the long gravel drive way, Roxy yelling for him to come back the entire time.

_Cold. So cold. Too much pain. The Prince of Derse lay upon the purple cobblestone street, bleeding out, watching helplessly as the Red Miles destroyed the moon kingdom. "Maybe I should rest a while, close my eyes only for a moment," he thought to himself. Everything was beginning to blur together, red blood and dark purple, he saw a light, but that was just his vision zoning out. The Prince of Derse could feel his heart beat slowing down…_

"We're losing him!" shouted a doctor as nurses and other staff members rushed into the room. The heart monitor was giving off a warning that he was flat lining, but wasn't heard as everyone in the room was shouting, except for Dave.

_The Prince of Derse felt at peace as he drifted in darkness, wondering why he had always been so worried about things that seemed pointless now. He drifted for what seemed like an eternity, but then a world of dark purple burst forth and he found himself feeling even more pain, but his heart was beating and he was breathing. In front of him he saw the Prince of Heart, looking relieved and angry. The Prince of Heart grabbed him by the shoulders and shouted at him, "Fight damn you! Don't you dare give up on me!" He then released his grip on the Prince of Derse and flew into the sky and disappeared into the Red Miles. The Prince of Derse placed a hand on his chest to see if he could find the wound, but only found his heart beating faster. Looking up at the Red Miles he decided he would not let it rule over him, that he would not let it destroy his people and kingdom. Grabbing his battered sword, he leapt into the sky and followed after the Prince of Heart, deep into the Red Miles…_

Mrs. Lalonde was beginning to wonder if her son was an idiot. She looked over at him sitting in the passenger seat, looking ready to bolt out of the car as soon as they got close enough to the hospital, whether or not the car was still moving. He was definitely an idiot in love she confirmed. Internally sighing, she fretted over Dave. A quick glance at the rear view mirror also confirmed that her daughters were worried about the sick albino boy, even though they didn't know him as well as their brother did. She focused back on driving to the hospital. She may or may not have been speeding.

So this was it. Debra got the call from the hospital about her son. He was in ICU and they were sure that even though they got his heart going again, he most likely wouldn't make it to the next sunrise. They had also discovered that even though all the tests and blood work showed that his medication had been helping, it really hadn't done anything. In fact, the medication and treatments had actually made things worse for Dave. The doctors were extremely confused as to why it hadn't been working for the past decade, but it hadn't. They were actually pretty sure that he would be much healthier if they hadn't given him the treatments, but they didn't know at the time and now it was too late. Debra sat on the couch feeling numb and Harold sat there with her, holding her hand tightly in his. They both had nothing left but regrets about their son.

_Dodging and attacking were all he could do while trying to follow the Prince of Heart through the Red Miles. It struck out at him at every possible opening, though the attacks became less frequent as he got further and further into it. Eventually the Prince of Derse didn't know which way was up and which way was down. Everything was just red, a brilliant shade of red. After a considerable amount of time had passed, he finally reached what looked like the heart of the Red Miles. The Prince of Heart was nowhere to be seen, but what he did find was something quite strange…_

Dirk was distraught because he wasn't allowed to see Dave. It was part of the rules that only family was allowed into the ICU and Dirk was only a volunteer in the eyes of the hospital staff. He and his family sat in the waiting room; his mom and sisters were patient, but he was restless. Dirk took up pacing up and down the hallway to calm himself, but it only made things worse. Distracted by his internal fretting, he didn't notice Nurse Glenda approach him. She said that he should be allowed to see Dave and said she'd sneak him in. Dirk was absolutely speechless, but nodded in agreement, not trusting his voice.


End file.
